September 29, 2007

Ft. Lee Army Band to honor veterans at Blandford Cemetery

On October 6, 2007 the Ft. Lee Army Band will play at the Bandstand at Blandford Cemetery’s Memorial Hill, from 3:30-4:30pm. This will be preceded by a choice of short tours of sections of the cemetery. Towards the end of the concert there will be a short ceremony during which a flag will be raised over the plaques dedicated to the veterans of WWII, Korea and Vietnam. This is a free event. Please join us.

Historic Blandford Cemetery Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of Blandford Cemetery.

Posted by brenda p at 11:02AM under Arts & Entertainment, History, community | Tags: Blandford Cemetery, Veterans

2 Responses to “Ft. Lee Army Band to honor veterans at Blandford Cemetery”

posted by brenda p at October 8, 2007 11:07 am :

A few images of the ceremony at Blandford Cemetery from Ron Moring:
posted by brenda p at October 11, 2007 10:30 am :

A write-up of the event from the Historic Blandford Cemetery Foundation:

On Saturday, October 6, 2007, Historic Blandford Cemetery Foundation, Inc. presented � An Afternoon in the Park� featuring the Fort Lee Army Band.

Today was the day to take a step back, to enjoy Blandford Cemetery the old fashioned way, to walk the pleasant pathways, to revel in the splendid vistas, to pause at the bandstand and listen to music that touches your heart, sip on lemonade or sample a homemade treat. A day to bring your chair or spread your blanket, take a deep breath and relax.

Some took a short stroll with a guide. Martha Atkinson told the awesome tale of Memorial Hill � the men who rest there and the women who cared. Joyce Rash introduced us to the Comrades and Characters who reside in the Old Churchyard, while Kay Carwile interpreted the significance of the beautiful Victorian symbolism that is so abundant in Blandford Cemetery.

In the dappled sunlight, beneath the old trees of Memorial Hill, friends, neighbours and proud Americans gathered near the bandstand for an afternoon in the park. The Fort Lee Army Band, conducted by SSG Christopher Bales, played a foot tapping, heart warming, spirit soaring patriotic concert that had us all wanting more. Sousa! The Army Song! Anchors Aweigh! Into the Wild Blue Yonder! Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines! Wave those flags, stand and cheer! Nancy Heuser of the DAR said, �This is outstanding, it should become an annual event. � Lois Graboyes remarked, �Marvellous, it is what America is all about�.

Under the tents provided by JT Morriss, lemonade and cookies prepared by the HBCF Board Members began to disappear, visitors stopped to look at John O. Peters� book, Blandford Cemetery: Death and Life at Petersburg, Virginia, which was published as a fund raiser by the foundation.

The band paused for a tribute to our veterans. Dawn Holmes welcomed everyone and then spoke of a flagpole.� Many years ago, on the sharp turn of Main Avenue in Blandford Cemetery, they raised a flagpole above a marker honoring the veterans of WWI, WWII, and Korea buried in Blandford. Too soon came another marker, for the veterans of Vietnam. A flag dedicated to these veterans once flew proudly from this now often unnoticed flagpole�. Ms Holmes asked that we remember:
�It is the soldier, not the reporter who gives us freedom of the press,
It is the soldier, not the poet who gives us freedom of speech,
It is the soldier, not the politician who ensures us life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag and whose coffin is draped with the flag�.
�While we mourn those who were lost, we must pay tribute to those who served and survived�.

Presenting a new flag to Ruben L. Flowers, American Legion Post 2 Commander, Ms. Holmes asked that we �Please honor the veterans here today, they will convey this flag from Memorial Hill to Main Ave�. Symbolically connecting generations of those who have answered the call to duty, the flag was passed to Andrew C. Robertson, American Legion Department Commander, Virginia: to Col. Bill Bice US.Army (Rtd): to David McDole, Post 2 Legion Riders Director and so to an honor guard of American Legion Riders. From Posts 2, 280 and 110, they escorted the flag from Memorial Hill to the �flagpole� where a military detail from Ft. Lee waited to raise the flag. Commanders Ruben Flowers and Andrew Robertson offered Col. Bice and Dawn Holmes the privilege of joining them in laying a wreath. The four slowly carried the wreath from Memorial Hill to the tree-obscured flagpole; the Legion Riders signalled the band for silence as the flag detail solemnly raised the flag. Many visitors had followed the wreath and observed the salute to the new flag, which now illuminated by a spotlight, will fly as a constant reminder of the service of our troops past, present and future. On cue from the American Legion Riders, the Fort Lee Army Band struck up a final march for the return to Memorial Hill.

Standing in the shadow of the Soldier�s Monument, Historic Blandford Cemetery Foundation�s President, Pam Hamilton addressed the crowd. Mrs. Hamilton told of the military history, which is such an integral part of Blandford. Of Maj. Gen Phillips, Commander of the British Forces in Virginia during the Revolutionary War, Captain McCrae and his men in the War of 1812, the 30,000 Confederate Soldiers who rest on Memorial Hill, Generals Mahone and Weisiger and of those who have fought in every war since now standing eternal guard here in Blandford. Mrs. Hamilton explained the two-fold mission of Historic Blandford Cemetery Foundation, the preservation and restoration of the cemetery: education, including the cemetery�s significance as a record of life in and around Petersburg for over three hundred years. In closing Mrs. Hamilton thanked the band, the active duty �flag detail� who gave up a day off to be here, the veterans and the visitors who despite the heat and humidity choose to spend their afternoon in this extraordinary place, Historic Blandford Cemetery.

The Fort Lee Army Band ended their concert with the National Anthem echoing across the 189 acres of Blandford Cemetery and into the neighborhoods beyond.

It was a great afternoon in the park!